India readies for talks with EU on refurbished items

India has begun thrashing out its plan of action on the issue of import of remanufactured goods such as cars, electronics and plastics as part of its free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union.

Brussels has insisted that such items should be treated at par with new ones and be eligible for tariff concessions, while New Delhi has concerns it will lead to dumping of e-waste and impact India's domestic manufacturing.

Remanufactured goods are those which have undergone transformation through recovery processes such as cleaning and testing to meet the same specifications as a new good.


People privy to the development said there is also a view that import of plastic waste should be discouraged as India already has enough plastic that can be recycled.

"Stakeholder consultations are being undertaken as we need to understand the impact on our local manufacturing and production linked incentive schemes," said one official.

As per the foreign trade policy, imports of refurbished and reconditioned spares of personal computers, laptops, air conditioners and diesel generating sets are restricted but spares of capital goods are allowed. Similarly, secondhand goods imported for the purpose of repair, refurbishing or re-engineering are allowed subject to environmental, health and safety norms.

"There is an issue of refurbished components compromising the lifecycle of automobiles. We are opposed to any concessions for remanufactured goods," said an auto industry representative.

The issue is likely to be taken up in the sixth round of the bilateral FTA negotiations to held in Brussels from October 16-20.

Sources said both sides intend to complete the negotiations by the end of next year and have concluded the negotiations on the SME chapter and agreed in-principle the textual part of government procurement chapter.

"Talks are also on to have a chapter on energy and raw materials in the agreement," said the official.

India and the EU re-launched negotiations for an FTA after a nine-year hiatus and started separate negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications in June last year.